LIBERTY, Ky. (WKYT) – The mayor of Liberty is calling on citizens to conserve water as the city’s primary water source has dropped 13 feet.
Liberty Lake, an 88-acre man-made body of water that serves as the water source for the city and Casey County, has receded significantly. Areas near a boat dock that would normally be underwater are now dirt and grass.
“Where the brown is… is where the water should be. You can see the vegetation line along the edges of the bank where the water is normally this time of year but it is diminished,” said John Sparr, who lives in Liberty.
Conservation measures requested
Dr. Sam Haddad, mayor of the city of about 2,000, is asking citizens to conserve water. That means no filling up swimming pools, holding off on watering plants, and placing laundry and dishes in machines only when fully loaded.
“We’re hoping for rain hopefully soon. We are hoping for today, tomorrow, the next day, but we are still waiting and praying for that,” Haddad said.
Allen Sparr, 73, Liberty operations manager who has lived in the area most of his life, said the situation is severe.
“I’ve never seen the river as low as it is in all my life, so we are in dire straits and we need people to conserve water,” Allen Sparr said.
Long-term drought conditions
John Sparr said the area did not receive normal amounts of snow and rain from this past winter.
“This didn’t happen overnight. We didn’t have any problem with the lake for quite some time,” he said.
City and county officials are working to build another body of water called Lake Garland, but that project will take about two years to complete. Officials have contacted the state for help.
They also have the ability to purchase water from surrounding counties to add to the water supply.
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